After weeks aboard the Rampion, with its recycled air and reprocessed water, he was glad to be home.
And though he’d never seen Luna or its biodomes filled with artificial forests and man-made lakes, he was beginning to understand why Levana might want to dig her claws into Earth too.
Little time had passed when Kai heard the hum of engines. He kept his eye on the horizon, waiting for the podships. When they arrived, they arrived in force—a dozen military ships surrounding the safe house, many with guns drawn, and any number of personnel scanning the landscape for signs of a threat.
Squinting against the sunlight, Kai pushed his hair off his brow while the largest ship landed not far from the house. Uniformed officers poured out, establishing a perimeter and scanning for nearby life-forms, all jabbering into their headphones and holding ominous guns at the ready.
“Your Imperial Majesty,” barked a gray-haired man, leading a team of four men up to him. “We are glad to see you, sir. Permission to conduct a security clearance scan?”
Kai pulled himself off the rock and handed the portscreen to one of the officers, who secured it in a crime evidence bag. He held out his arms while another officer dragged a scanner down his limbs.
“All clear. Welcome home, Your Majesty.”
“Thank you. Where is Konn—”
A bang sent half a dozen personnel spinning toward the safe house, barking and leveling their guns at a cellar door that had burst open.
Konn Torin emerged, more harried than Kai had ever seen him. “Royal Adviser Konn Torin,” he yelled, holding up his hands. His gaze flashed once over the guns, then landed on Kai near the edge of the plateau. His shoulders drooped with relief and as soon as one of the officers had scanned his wrist and confirmed his identity, Torin did something he had never done before.
He rushed toward Kai and hugged him.
The embrace was as quick as it was unexpected, before Torin pulled away and held Kai at arm’s length, examining him. Kai was surprised to find he was slightly taller than Torin. That couldn’t have happened in the past few weeks. Maybe he’d been taller for months and had never noticed. Having known Torin since he was a child, it was difficult to change his perception of him now.
Cinder told him that Torin had informed her of Kai’s second tracking chip. Maybe he was full of more surprises than Kai gave him credit for.
“Your face!” said Torin. “What did they do to you? She promised me—”
“I’m fine,” said Kai, squeezing Torin’s arm. “It’s just a bruise. Don’t worry about it.”
“Don’t worry—!”
“Your Majesty,” interrupted the gray-haired man, “it may help to avoid media attention if you return through the safe house sublevels. We’ll send a team to escort you.”
Kai glanced around. A number of palace guards had emerged to join the flocking military. “If I’d known that was an option, I would have skipped this whole charade.”
The officer didn’t react.
“Yes, fine. Thank you for your thoroughness. Let’s go.”
Torin fell into step beside him, along with way too many guards, as they were ushered toward the cellar door.
“Nainsi will have tea waiting for you, and the chefs have been ordered to prepare refreshments for your return,” said Torin. “The press secretary is drafting up a statement for the media, but you’ll want to be briefed on the palace’s official position regarding the security breach and kidnapping before we release anything.”
Kai had to duck his head entering the house’s basement. It was tidy, despite a few cobwebs in the corners, and as they headed into the passageways beneath the mountains they got brighter and cleaner.
“What’s the status on the palace?” asked Kai.
“The enemy soldiers have not yet breached the palace walls. Our tactical analysts believe that if they do overrun the palace and discover there are no people to kill, they will redirect their attention to elsewhere. So far, we’ve found that these soldiers do not seem interested in general destruction or theft, only killing.”
“Unless Levana is using the palace to make a statement. It would suggest they’re winning.”
“That is a possibility.”
They rounded a corner and in the distance Kai could make out activity—talking and footsteps and the buzz of machinery. His entire staff was crammed into this labyrinth of rooms and hallways. He almost wished he’d stayed up on the terrace.
“Torin, what about the families of all these people? Are they safe?”
“Yes, sir. The families of all government officials were relocated to the palace within forty-eight hours of the first attacks. They are all here.”
“And what about the people who aren’t government officials? The chefs? The … the housekeepers?”
“I’m afraid we didn’t have room for everyone. We would have brought down the whole city if we could.”
Kai’s gut clenched. He would have brought the whole country with him, if he could.
“Of course,” he said, forcing himself not to dwell on the things he couldn’t change. “Do I have an office down here? I need Nainsi to set up a meeting. This afternoon, if possible.”
“Yes, Your Majesty. There are also private rooms set aside for the royal family. I’m having them made up now.”
“Well, there’s only one of me, and I only need one room. We can find something more useful to do with the rest of them.”
“Of course. Who is Nainsi to contact for this meeting?”
He inhaled deeply. “My fiancée.”
Torin’s pace slowed and Kai thought he might come to a complete stop, but Kai pulled his shoulders back and kept marching down the corridors. One of the guards ahead of them was yelling again—“Clear the way! Clear the way!”—as curious staff and officials emerged from doorways. Rumors were spreading fast and as Kai met the eyes of those he passed, he saw joy and relief cross their faces.
He gulped. It was strange to think how many people were worried about him—not just the people he saw every day, but citizens throughout the Commonwealth—waiting to hear if the kidnappers would return their emperor safely, having no idea that Linh Cinder was the last person in the world who would hurt him. It made him feel a little guilty for having enjoyed his time aboard the Rampion as much as he had.
“Your Majesty,” said Torin, lowering his voice as he caught up with him again, “I must advise you to reconsider your arrangement with Queen Levana. We should at least discuss the best course of action before we make any hasty decisions.”
Kai cut a glance toward his adviser. “Our government is being run out of an enormous bomb shelter and there are Lunar mutants beating down the doors of my palace. I’m not making hasty decisions. I’m doing what has to be done.”
“What will the people think when they hear you intend to follow through with a marriage to the woman who is responsible for hundreds of thousands of deaths?”
“Millions. She’s responsible for millions of deaths. But that doesn’t change anything—we still need her letumosis antidote, and I’m hoping she’ll accept the terms of a new cease-fire while we confirm alliance details.”
One of the guards gestured toward an open door. “Your office, Your Majesty.”
“Thank you. I require a moment of privacy with Konn-dàren, but if an android comes by with some tea, let her in.”
“Yes, sir.”
He stepped into the office. It was less lavish than his office in the palace, but not uncomfortable. Without windows, the room was filled with artificial light, but bamboo matting on the walls gave the space some warmth and helped deaden the sound of Kai’s footsteps on the concrete floor. A large desk with a netscreen and half a dozen chairs took up the rest of the space.